We're a nation of inventors, from the worldwide web to the electric vacuum cleaner - here's a rundown of our most influential innovations
THERMOS FLASK
Invented: 1892
Inventor: Sir James Dewar
This humble invention was the brainchild of Sir James Dewar, an eminent professor of chemistry at Cambridge and leading light of the Royal Institution. Dewar didn’t invent it to keep tea hot on picnics (that was a happy by-product), but to help his experiments on cooling gases, like air and oxygen, to such low temperatures that they would liquefy.
LAWNMOWER
Invented: 1827
Inventor: Edwin Beard Budding
What could be more quintessentially British than a perfectly mown lawn in summer? Until Budding developed his first 19in mower in 1827 this was the preserve of the very rich. As the lawnmower’s popularity spread and made lawns more affordable, sports that were played on grass, such as cricket, rugby and football, were given an important boost.
